Peace
by Mr. Patience
Summary: All he wanted was peace. That is why he gave up his shinobi life. But peace continues to elude him in his new life and a familiar face from his past throws his mind further into turmoil and doubt. Will Naruto ever find peace?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I am in no way affiliated with the author or owner of Naruto. This is a work of fandom and I am in no way profiting from it.

A/N: This chapter has been edited, mostly for grammatical mistakes.

Peace

By Mr. Patience

**-----**

**Chapter 1**

"I can't believe Tsunade sent me on this mission," groaned Sakura, "Why didn't she just send a chuunin on this wild goose chase?"

Sakura honestly knew why Tsunade sent her on this particular mission, but she also knew that her task was more of a farce than a mission. There was no way she would be able to find this person, let alone bring them back to Konoha.

Nevertheless, she couldn't deny that a part of her hoped desperately that she could succeed.

But still, the likelihood of her actually doing that was so _small_-

"_Damn it, Sakura, calm down. You're only making it harder on yourself."_

"_You're right,"_ agreed Sakura with her inner self as she took a deep breath.

"_Just push everything out of your mind. Just relax and-wait, what was that?"_

She could sense a strong chakra presence in the distance. This was unusual considering she was walking down a dirt road surrounded by woods in the middle of Fire Country.

"_There's no way that's a shinobi…" _

She was in the middle of nowhere, far from any points of interest, such as towns or any of the hidden shinobi villages.

But… the chakra was so strong and had literally just flared up out of the blue. Most shinobi, especially those infiltrating a country, always keep their chakra signal in check. So who, or what, could it be?

Sakura knew she had a mission to complete, but a little bit of a detour wouldn't hurt, right? With the graceful skills of a kunoichi, she cautiously left the safety of the marked path and entered the forest.

_____

She delicately landed on high tree branch and cleared her mind like she had routinely done over the past ten minutes. The now familiar chakra signature was only about a hundred yards away, which would have been plenty of room in a normal situation, but Sakura didn't want to take any chances. Especially since the chakra radiating from her target was unearthly, in fact she had only known one other person with that much chakra…

She shook her head. Now was not the time to be distracted. She had to stay focused on her mission- actually, it was just a curiosity. A curiosity with a monstrous amount of chakra. With that last comforting thought, she slowly crept forward through the trees.

It wasn't too long before she was within eyesight of her objective; a black blot sitting on the forest floor. Luckily, it didn't act like it was aware of her presence. This encouraged her to get just close enough to where she could clearly make out its features.

"It" was definitely a man sitting in a meditative position among the underbrush. He wore a black kimono and hakama over a white yukata; the traditional dress of a monk. Needless to say, he didn't appear threatening or even interesting except for one thing: radiant, spiky blond hair which framed a calm, handsome face. But it was what was upon that face that caused Sakura to gasp and loose her balance: three whisker-like marks upon each tanned cheek.

The meditating monk cracked a single eye open as he watched the startled kunoichi fall through the trees and crash to the forest floor.

"Quite an ostentatious entrance for a shinobi," he remarked off-handedly as he closed his eye to resume his meditating.

Sakura promptly pulled herself to her knees, ignoring the cuts and bruises of her fall, when she heard that painfully familiar voice.

"Naruto?" she asked even though she was half afraid to hear the answer.

The monk slowly opened both of his deep blue eyes and replied: "The one and only."

_____

All Sakura wanted to do was embrace the bastard. But she couldn't move. She had thought about this moment everyday for the past five years of her life, but now that it was here, she didn't exactly know how to react.

"I, uh… um," she stuttered aimlessly in a nonplused manner, looking quite ridiculous sitting on her knees lopsided with her pink hair full of twigs and leaves.

Naruto sat patiently with his face completely void of emotion.

Suddenly, Sakura's shinobi skills kicked in and she remembered her mission, even though it was honestly the last thing she wanted to think about.

"Ah, Naruto," she greeted as she sat up straight and brushed her hair out of her face, "Just the person I was looking for."

The addressee nodded his head as if giving her approval to continue.

She steadied herself before beginning: "I have been sent on behalf of Konoha-"

She paused when she saw a sour look beginning to crawl across Naruto's face. However, she continued her carefully memorized statement, "-to request your services for a limited period of time in order to gain better insight into-"

"I have cut my ties with Konoha, Sakura," interrupted Naruto.

"But-" she protested.

"I have given up my life as a shinobi," he stated firmly with a sense of finality.

"Listen, Naruto," she begged as threw all caution into the wind, "All we need is some information. We think that there may be a possible threat to Konoha gathering in the west and-"

"I live in a monastery, Sakura. I have little knowledge of what's happening in the world."

"But you still have your spy network."

"When I said that I had given up my shinobi life, I meant _everything_; that includes my spy network."

"Then, it's just a coincidence that I found you out here, far away from the monastery that I was originally head to," she stated accusingly, then narrowed her eyes, "Where none of the other monks would see us?"

A glint of contempt shone in Naruto's calm eyes.

"Don't come back here," he stated with a stony face and hard eyes.

He abruptly rose from his sitting position and disappeared into the forest.

Sakura's surprise was painted starkly on her face as she shouted in desperation and anger, "You can't keep running away, Naruto!"

_____

Naruto soon arrived at the monastery and walked swiftly into it, making a beeline for his quarters. He wanted to push the turmoil caused by the encounter out of his mind. However, an aged, calm voice interrupted his frustrated thinking.

"Was it a friend that you met with?"

Naruto stopped abruptly, but tried not to seem surprised.

"_How did he find out? We were completely alone."_

"I met with no one, Kazuo-sensei."

"You can't fool me, Naruto-kun," smiled the old man without looking up from the scroll he was reading.

"It was just… a beggar."

"A beggar should not cause a man, let alone a monk, to walk with heavy steps and a furrowed brow."

"Well," started Naruto as he averted his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck, "I was in the middle of my meditation and-"

"Naruto," interrupted Kazuo as he raised his eyes to look at him, "I've known you for half a decade and I know that there are very few people in this world who can truly upset you."

Naruto met his firm gaze with his own apprehensive look. His sensei had always reminded him of old Sarutobi with his perceptiveness and wisdom.

"And all of them are your friends."

Naruto slowly hung his head in resignation, "It was someone from my old village."

The old monk listened patiently.

"She… she was a good friend of mine."

Kazuo saw the pain of years past flash in Naruto's eyes.

"Come; sit," he gestured.

The crestfallen blond obediently sat on round pillow facing him.

After taking a deep breath, Naruto continued, "She, or should I say the village, thought that I might know about some suspicious activity going on in the west. Which I don't."

The latter part he added quite hastily.

"Then why are you upset? They will not need you if you do not have what they seek."

"Well, it's just that… I thought that I had made it clear that I wouldn't be coming back."

"If you know that you do not want to go back, then you should not be worried."

"They may return, though," Naruto said anxiously as he unconsciously looked out the nearby window.

"They cannot force you to return; only you can make that decision."

There was a short, tense pause.

"Yes, you're right," agreed Naruto as he stood up, "I have nothing to worry about."

He smiled as if a great weight had been taken off of his young shoulders. But his eyes betrayed him. Kazuo could see the conflict and indecisive within their blue depths.

"Naruto," asked the wise old man, "do remember what you told me on the first day we met. Do you remember why you wanted to take up the cloth?"

"I told you I wanted peace," replied Naruto as he tried to hold his smile.

"Do you think you have found it?"

"…Yes."

"And I believe you," smiled Kazuo, "You have learned many things here. How to become one with nature, one with pain, one with the world… but you have yet to learn one very important thing."

"What is that, sensei?" asked the young monk.

"You have not become one with _yourself_."

Naruto's eyebrows scrunched together.

"How do I do that?"

"It is very simple, yet it can take years to do."

"I think I can do it."

"_Ah, the confidence of youth,"_ thought Kazuo

"Like I said, it is simple. All you must do is accept yourself; flaws, strengths, and in between."

A shadow passed over the former shinobi's face, "Trust me, I realized long ago that I am a flawed person."

"But did you accept it?"

The shadow seemed to darken as he remained silent.

"I have something of yours," remarked the old monk as he changed the subject and pulled himself to his feet.

The sound of wood sliding against wood was heard as he opened a nearby closet door, his inquisitive eye searching its dark corners. Naruto craned his neck to see what the aged hands were rummaging for. His eyes widened and his face faulted when he recognized the long, slender object being pulled from the closet's depths. His pulse increased with each inch that was lost between him and the dreaded object.

As he seated himself, Naruto's sensei asked, "This is your katana, correct?"

It was completely black, from the polished sheath to the blacked steel pommel. The small dents, scratches, and other imperfections revealed that it wasn't meant to be proudly displayed over a mantle; it had only one purpose: to kill. It was a true shinobi weapon.

"I thought I had asked you to destroy it," said Naruto in a low voice.

"I didn't because I knew that it wasn't what you truly wanted."

"What the hell do you mean by that," he retorted suspiciously as he tried desperately to keep his anger in check.

"If you truly did not want this you would not have carried it here all the way from Konoha."

Naruto averted his eyes from his sensei's stern gaze.

"Now," spoke Kazuo, "Neither I nor your old village can force you to do anything, Naruto. Only you can make the right decision. Only you can become one with yourself."

He carefully placed the katana in front of his fellow monk before heading for the door. He took once last glance at Naruto staring at the blade before fading into the hallway.

_____

Sakura walked disheartened down the lonely country road. She could have run through the trees, which would have been much faster, but her legs didn't seem to have the energy.

"_Come on, cheer up, Sakura. What did you expect? If he didn't want to be a shinobi five years ago, what makes you think he would've changed his mind?"_

"_I don't know. I guess I was just hoping that he had returned to his old self."_

"_Sakura, you're just going to have to accept that he's changed."_

"_I know, but I still can't figure out why! All he wanted his entire was to be Hokage and then BAM- he just leaves the village! What the hell happened?!"_

"_You've asked this question a million times…"_

"_Yes, but-"_

Her mental arguing was cut short when a figure suddenly appeared right in front of her. She tried to back pedal defensively, but ended up tripping over her own feet and landing flat on her back.

"Twenty-six years old and still uncoordinated, tsk tsk," taunted a familiar voice.

She looked up from her humble to position to see none other than her blond friend Naruto with a black katana strapped to his back with a sash. He held out his hand, which she took with a smile, and helped her to her feet. However, he slipped it away as soon as she was steadily on her feet.

"So, I'm guessing you've changed your mind?" Sakura inquired.

"Yes," he replied before his face became steely, "But only be in the village for one month."

Sakura tried to cover up her disappointment by commenting matter-of-factly, "One month's better than nothing."

And with that, they leapt into the trees, bound for Konoha.

**Chapter End**

-----

A/N: Yeah, kind of boring, I know. But expositions tend to be that way, right? Or at least it's that way for badly written stuff.

Anyway, I kind of like the idea myself, especially since it is going to have a lot of flashbacks and back story. Also, I really haven't seen too many of these stories; you know, ones where Naruto leaves Konoha and does NOT became a missing nin (there are way too many of those). Okay, enough blabbering, just leave a review if you like; tell me what you liked or what you think could stand to use some improvement.

So, yeah, enjoy life.

Mr. Patience

On a side note, be sure to check out my one-shots!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I am in no way affiliated with the author or owner of Naruto. This is a work of fandom and I am in no way profiting from it.

Peace

By: Mr. Patience

-----

**Chapter 2**

Fierce knocking on the wooden bedroom door woke Tsunade from her deep slumber. She rolled in her covers and drowsily looked her clock. The time read "1:15 AM." The hard knocking continued. She pulled herself from her warm bed and cracked open the door.

"This better be good…" she warned.

"Sakura needs to meet with you at the Hokage Tower immediately," Shizune spoke urgently from the other side of the door.

"If it's about those damn medical reports, I swear I'll-"

"She completed her mission."

There was a silence as the full weight of the words began to sink in.

"I'll be ready in five minutes."

-----

Sakura sighed as she caught herself glancing at Naruto again. She knew that she was only doing it because she was nervous, or in denial, about the whole thing.

Her pupils flittered towards him. Naruto's face was just as neutral as it had been when he had agreed to come with her. But she had noticed that he had been holding back a grimace since they had entered Konoha. But that didn't matter because they were sitting in the Hokage's office and everything would be fine.

She glanced at him again. Naruto would work for Konoha for month, get paid, and then go back to his monastery. One quick glance. Everything would return to normal after that.

"You worry too much, Sakura," he remarked without looking at her.

The kunoichi looked at her lap, mortified.

The opening of the door behind them dispelled the tension in the room. That is, until Tsunade entered.

The Fifth Hokage briskly glided past them and sat down behind her large wooden desk without looking at either of the other two occupants of the room. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. First she saw her apprentince who, to her trained eye, looked like a nervous wreck.

Next, she shifted her gaze to the man sitting beside her. For a moment, she felt her stern Hokage Hokage façade crack.

"Good evening, Naruto. I am glad that you accepted our request."

"Before we jump to conclusions, I would like to hear more on the matter that I am to investigate. I want to know what I'm getting myself into."

"Simply put, our sources have gather information that give a strong indication that there is a threat gathering in the west."

"'A strong indication?' It is probably just a small upstart group; many of those surfaced after the war."

"No, this has the possibility of being on the same level of Akatsuki."

"Hokage-sama," Tsunade shuddered internally at the address, "There won't be on a group on the same level as Akatsuki for many generations."

The weight behind the words caused Tsunade to hold her tongue. For a moment, it seemed as though Naruto would simply walk out the door and she couldn't afford to lose him… again.

"However," he continued, "It shouldn't be overlooked. I'll investigate the matter, but on a few conditions."

The Hokage didn't know whether she should be glad or not.

"First, I want access to intelligence in the Konoha network. Second, this is commission work so I'll only be here for one month, no more."

Tsunade started to protest, but Naruto cut her off.

"And when that one month is up and I walk outside Konoha's gates, I was never here. Any files on me that have not yet been destroyed are to be incinerated. And never send anyone from Konoha to contact me. Never."

She tried not to squirm under his hard gaze and sighed instead.

"Your demands, though high, are not impossible. I'll have a scribe draw up a contract and-"

"A verbal agreement will suffice."

There was no point in arguing with him; they needed him and he knew it.

"So be it."

They shook on it and the commissioned shinobi began to leave when Tsunade called out: "What about your payment?"

Naruto politely turned toward her and replied, "I am a monk, Tsunade; I have no need for excessive remuneration. I just need enough for living expensive while I'm here."

"What about accommodations? There won't be many inns open at this time of night."

"He can stay with me," Sakura piped up.

Naruto had almost forgotten that she in the room and now looked at her with mixed feelings.

"It's only for one night," she shrugged.

"Alright."

-----

Sakura was once again casting glances at Naruto. She had wanted run across the rooftops to her apartment, but Naruto had insisted that they walk saying that he needed to reacquaint himself with the village. It would have been quite nice had it not been for the torrential downpour that was practically drowning them. And of course, Naruto was oblivious to it.

Sakura rubbed her soaked arms as she glanced at her odd friend. His head was tilted back as he scanned the surrounding buildings with his wet blond locks clinging to his lean face and sturdy neck. The street lights illuminated the water that ran down his square jaw and angular cheekbones. The black whisker-marks were prominent, yet not out of place; a ghost of a smile curved them ever so slightly. His clear blue eyes analyzed everything and stirred with a multitude of emotions.

And that's when Sakura realized that they were looking at her.

She quickly snapped her eyes forward, embarrassed at being caught staring at him.

It was almost 2:30 AM, but she knew that dawn was still a long time away.

-----

Following Sakura through her apartment building, Naruto had the increasingly strong feeling that this was a bad idea. He didn't know if it was because of their past, the fact that he was fascinated by how Sakura's soaked clothing clung to her lithe figure, or a combination of the two.

"_Calm down, it'll be fine. Besides, it's only for one night."_

"Here we are," she announced as she opened the door, "It's not much, but it should do."

She led the way in and said, "You can take my bed for the night."

After closing the door behind him, he replied, "No need to inconvenience yourself because of me; I'll sleep on the floor."

Sakura quickly walked to her bedroom and out of Naruto's sight to her bedroom, but continued to talk to him, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," he replied while looking about her loft. It hadn't really changed over the past five years; tidy and clean with a touch of elegance.

"Are you hungry or anything? I can fix something, if you want."

"No, I'm fine," he called back with a small smile; it seemed that she hadn't changed much either.

"Well, at least let me get you some dry clothes," she insisted. She had come back into the living room and was standing behind him.

"That's alright, I can take care of-" he paused when he turned around and saw her. She had changed out of her saturated clothes and was now wearing just and oversized shirt that had slipped off one of her shoulders.

"I, uh," he looked down at his hands sheepishly, "Have this little technique to take care of it."

He then formed his hands into a tiger seal and closed his eyes in order to concentrate.

Sakura watched in curiosity as steam visibly began to float off of his clothing, followed by a soft hissing sound. Curiosity turned into amazement as Naruto's clothing dried before her eyes.

"How do you do that?!" she inquired eagerly.

"It's basically an extremely weak fire jutsu," he explained, enjoying the surprised look on her face.

"Instead of concentrating chakra to a single body part, you spread it throughout your entire body and push out just enough chakra that you get heat, but no open flame. See?"

He held his hand next to her cheek and focused a minimal amount of chakra to it.

Her lips spread into a smile and a soft "wow" escaped her lips when she felt the warmth of the jutsu flow over her cold cheek. She closed her eyes, enjoying the pleasant sensation, and moved her face closer to his hand.

Naruto smiled too and gently placed his hand against her cheek which she nuzzled into. He had forgotten how soft and smooth her skin was and instinctively caressed it with his thumb. She placed her palm on the back of his hand and pressed it firmly against her cheek.

He gaze tendered as it moved over the soft, curving features of her peaceful face framed by silky locks.

It seemed that he had also forgotten her beauty.

She green eyes opened slowly and looked at his, searching.

She took a tentative step towards him; he did not back away.

Her eyes continued to search his.

She took one last step; they were only inches from each other.

She wanted to find the thing that existed…

She leaned toward him.

…five years ago.

"No!"

He pulled away from her, averting his eyes from her shocked gaze.

"I can't… it's not right…"

Why couldn't he find the right words?

"Sakura, I…"

Were there even any right words to be found?

"I left Konoha… a long time ago."

There was silence as Sakura stared longingly at Naruto who had his head bowed.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

His exit was reflected in the lone tear that ran down Sakura's warmed cheek.

-----

"Tsunade," Shizune chided, "It's almost four o'clock."

Said woman did not reply for she was too busy poring over the multiple documents that were spread across her desk.

Her assistant sighed.

"Tsunade, you really need to get some sleep."

The phone on her desk rang.

"Who would be calling the office at this time of nigh-"

"This is the Hokage speaking."

Shizune watched curiously as her sensei's brow furrowed.

"Wait, you need to speak up, Sakura. Now, Naruto went where?"

Her body tensed and her eyes widened.

"Alright, just stay at your apartment and we'll discuss this later."

She hung up the phone and exhaled roughly.

"Shit," she cursed and then looked at her bewildered assistant, "Get all on duty shinobi to search for him and alert me when they find him. And be careful; he may be… temperamental."

Tsunade slowly raised a hand to massage her temple as Shizune rushed from her office.

**Chapter End**

-----

A/N: I was finally inspired enough to write this chapter a couple days ago. Needless to say, I'm inconsistent when it comes to chapter output. I'm finally feeling good about the direction of this story again, mostly because I don't exactly know where it's going; it makes writing it a lot more interesting.

Yep, I have no clue when the next chapter will be out. It could be tomorrow or three months from now, who knows? But if you don't like waiting that long, just leave a review telling me about it, or anything else about the story.

So, yeah, enjoy life.

-Mr. Patience

And make sure to check out my one-shots!


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